Pac-12 says ASU should have been called for technical foul in final second of upset of Arizona

The Pac-12 Conference admitted Sunday night that Arizona State should have been called for a technical foul in the final second of its upset over then-No. 2 Arizona on Friday, according to ESPN’s Andy Katz.

Katz wrote that the officials wrote in their standard game review that ASU’s Jahii Carson should have been called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk in the game’s final second of the Sun Devils’ 69-66 double-overtime win.

The NCAA rulebook cites Section 4 Class B technical infractions article 1, letter f, which states “Grasping, either basket in an excessive, emphatic manner during the officials’ jurisdiction when the player is not, in the judgment of an official, trying to prevent an obvious injury to self or others,” results in a technical.

The officials were correct in not assessing a technical to ASU for the students, staff and bench players for running on the court with five-tenths of a second remaining, according to the league office. In a statement, the Pac-12 said: “Following the last made basketball by Arizona State in the second overtime, the officials stopped the game to refer to the monitor to accurately determine the proper amount of time that should be placed on the game clock.

“Therefore, with the game stopped, the fans and team followers who rushed the floor did not create a delay that interfered with play. The NCAA basketball playing rules state that when the delay does not interfere with play, it shall be ignored.”

After the dunk, which was evidently thought by those in attendance to be the final play of the game, ASU fans rushed the court, creating chaos for officials. Arizona had to inbound the ball at the baseline with 0.7 seconds remaining on the game clock and, despite managing to get a shot off, their efforts fell short in the 69-66 double overtime loss.